The Power of A Girl’s Weekend Getaway
Crafting the Perfect Getaway
I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful it was to be away earlier this week.
If anything good came from Covid, it was the start of Girl’s Weekend. Being cooped up with my husband and child - whom I love dearly! - was just about enough to send me on a “grippy sock vacay”.
Girl’s Weekend consists of just two of us. We find a fun B&B to stay in, maybe schedule a massage, hit a winery or two and are in our jammies and our own rooms by 8:30pm. It’s glorious.
Now, our first year was a bit out of control. We hadn’t been out of our homes for several months to socialize, let alone be away from our families. We brought too much wine with us and we stayed up wayyyyyy too late and realized all too quickly that we are aging and we needed to be in bed early. Lessons learned!
For the last 3 years we’ve gone to the same place. We’ve experimented with a couple of different places to stay, but I do believe we’ve found a system that works.
Who Am I?
Hi! I’m MacKenzie, your Self-Care Mompanion. I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and owner of Follow Your Arrow Counseling, LLC. I work with Moms and Therapist Moms who are stressed the F out, overwhelmed and not taking care of themselves as well as they take care of everyone else. I speak from experience as I’m a Mom, too.
Being a Mom is hard. There are some days I really don’t like it, to be honest. There are days I don’t like having to deal with some of the parts of motherhood…like being blamed for everything, ignored and not being appreciated. Thank goodness there are other moments when my daughter tells me I’m her best friend that make up for all the crappy moments.
I hope you’ll join me as we walk this road of motherhood together. It truly takes a village to raise our kids… and maintain our sanity.
Our motto for this past “weekend” was “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Here’s why:
We have separate rooms. The last two years we’ve stayed in a sweet B&B, across the hall from each other. Captain Wohlt Inn is central to everything in this small, German town of Hermann, Missouri. Known for their wineries, beautiful views and small town charm, it’s my fave place. (totally unpaid recommendation!) The owner of the B&B is super nice and accommodating. He’s been renovating and the place looks great. Modern on the inside, historic on the outside. Perfect! They have a couple of different buildings to stay in so there’s a bit of something for everyone. I’ve stayed in only one of the buildings, but hope to try out another space just for comparison.
The chef is top-notch. Taking dietary accommodations into consideration, the chef is genius. The kitchen is in the building where I’ve stayed and let me tell you, the smells that fill the air are heavenly. And breakfast is delivered to your door with “Good Morning” written on the container. They include a bottle of water, napkin, salt & pepper packets and plastic silverware. It’s perfect. I’m not really a fan of being forced to socialize in the morning when I don’t want to. It’s the introvert in me.
Whether you want great people watching or peace and quiet, Hermann has it. While riding the trolley from winery to winery is fun, there was something super special about it being so ridiculously quiet on Sunday and Monday this trip. We had nearly undivided attention at each of our stops and there weren’t a bunch of drunk people to avoid. While that’s amazing people watching, sometimes it’s just nice to not deal with all that chaos. And because we had nearly undivided attention, we also got some extra pours and conversation. Always a plus.
Great restaurants. We were forced to go out of our comfort zone a pinch because Monday and Tuesday are big days that businesses are closed after being open all weekend. We found some gems that we hadn’t tried before and have added to our list of places to revisit. Doxie Slush (boozie frozen drinks) is a Narwahl’s-esque kinda place and it’s delish. Food, drinks and customer service were fabulous. Bar Vin was also a pleasant surprise. The owner is incredibly knowledgeable about wine and also works at the Dierbergs Star Lane tasting room. She makes a mean Old Fashioned, that’s for sure!
Park your car and forget it. We legit love just walking around, despite the iffy temps and wind in March. Aside from a car trip to a couple of places (Stone Hill winery is on a huge hill and I’m NOT in shape), my car barely moved. But there is a lovely cab service in town that is just a phone call away.
Not too close, not too far. One last fabulous thing about our getaway is it takes just a bit over an hour to get there from where I live. I was home by Noon on Tuesday with the rest of the day to do what I wanted/needed. We remarked a couple of times during the time away that we really need to stop pretending we’re going to go somewhere else and just admit that we’ve found a gold nugget in Hermann.
I’m ready for anything!
This time away is so rejuvenating for me as a clinician, mom and wife. It’s just enough time for my daughter to remember she does in fact love me and allows me time and space to actually miss my family. It really is true that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
I need this time away and I’m always appreciative that my husband never balks at me going. Honestly, he never protests when I go anywhere. We both need time away. It’s nice to sleep in your own bed once in awhile. Watch whatever silly TV show you want to. (Honestly, I never even turned on the TV, I was engrossed in the Riley Strain investigation and where is Princess Kate Middleton?!)
Until next year, Hermann, Missouri!!
And Mamas…please plan your own getaway. It doesn’t need to be extravagant. It doesn’t need to be far. It can be by yourself. But do it. You won’t regret it. You’ll be a better human for it.
I’d love to hear where you’re going or where you’ve been.
